I want to be found faithful. I want to see the brokenness around me and not be immune to the hurting, but walk into their situations. The courage to do what is right and say what needs to be said.

A couple weeks ago I was talking to a young man in our church and he has this vision to do what Peter and John did in this passage. He’s a solid believer in Jesus, a graduate of our intern program and called out for God’s work. He, like all of us, need these principles to live out a God-life right where we are: in our workplaces and right outside our workplaces, in our homes and right outside our homes, in our schools and right outside our schools.

Demonstration + Proclamation = Credibility

Immediately following Pentecost, the Christian movement picked up steam. Two leaders, Peter and John, encountered a lame man on their way to the temple. When the name of Jesus healed the man, they immediately gained credibility to share the gospel. In other words, once they walked the walk, they attracted an audience when they talked. Note how Acts 3 describes these early church leaders:

1. They faithfully did what they knew to do (v. 1).
2. They stopped and sensitively addressed needs (v. 3).
3. They had the courage to face problems (v. 4).
4. Others anticipated receiving solutions from them (v. 5).
5. They realistically admitted their lack of material resources (v.6).
6. They fearlessly used their God-given authority (v. 6).
7. They generously gave away their spiritual resources (v. 6).
8. They solved practical problems (vv. 7, 8).

“I want to see the brokenness around me and not be immune to the hurting, but walk into their situations. The courage to do what is right and say what needs to be said.”

Maybe there is a situation that we can both agree on with the hurting veteran community. The recent turn of events has done nothing but increase the distress they struggle with. I would love to see the churches tripping all over themselves in competition to love on this group of selfless heroes. Maybe those that are struggling with far less identity issues can find themselves in giving love rather than demanding it.